Bond King Bill Gross Departs for Realm of the Unknown

Even for observers accustomed to surprises from Bill Gross, the news that he had suddenly quit Pacific Investment Management Co. and agreed to join Janus Capital Group was a shock. Pimco and Gross have been in turmoil since the departure last January of Mohamed El-Erian, Gross’s deputy and expected successor. Reports that El-Erian was driven away by Gross’s difficult personality had deeply hurt Pimco’s chief investment officer and co-founder, who was convinced that the reasons for El-Erian’s decision were more complex. “Gross is an autocrat, a dictator,” is how Gross described the way he felt he was being portrayed when he spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek in April. “Whenever I read the newspaper, I say to myself, ‘At least my wife loves me.’ ”

Pimco would have preferred that its founder keep quiet and carry on. But Gross was never one to censor himself, and that’s a large part of the reason he’s been so successful, as both a fund manager and a financial celebrity. He was seen as an eccentric genius whose quirks were central to his brand. In the end, though, some of the same qualities that helped him earn the title Bond King led to his sudden departure.